Tonight's Blazers-Lakers game will be broadcast on KGW in Portland and Time Warner SportsNet in Los Angeles.Bruce Ely/The Oregonian

The five most interesting stories, rumors and notes in the NBA:

1. TV or not TV: The good news if you want to see tonight's Blazers-Lakers game is that you won't have to sweat not having Comcast. This one is on KGW in the Portland area.

Enjoy it, though, if you're not a Comcast subscriber as the Blazers' next six games are on Comcast SportsNet Northwest, which is still not available on many non-Comcast providers in the Portland area, including Dish Network and DirecTV.

If you're interested in how a TV deal might look if things do work out in Portland, a look at tonight's Blazers opponent might offer a clue. The Lakers are in their first year being broadcast on Time Warner Sportsnet (and Time Warner Deportes). When they played Portland in a preseason game on Oct. 10, TWSN was still not on many major carriers, including Dish and DirecTV.

Although the extra charge was limited in scope, some believe it will open the door to other providers adding extra charges in the future. The Hollywood Reporter points out that in negotiations with other providers, such as Charter and Verizon, Time Warner insisted TWSN be a part of the basic tier subscription. That way, Time Warner could negotiate better advertising rates for its TWSN programs.

Meanwhile, Lakers fans who subscribe to Dish still don't get Lakers games (although they do get the Pac-12 Network, something DirecTV subscribers do not).

All this fractured viewing seems par for the course nationally. You wonder if, at some point, Comcast won't have to settle for letting Dish or DirecTV charge an additional fee to carry Comcast SportsNet Northwest, whose main programming remains the Blazers.

Would Blazers fans be willing to pay an additional $3 a month to see the games?

2. Kings of L.A.: Of course, Dish subscribers in Los Angeles could simply jump on the Clippers bandwagon, which is surely growing by the win.

At 23-6, the Clippers now have the top record in the NBA. But far from getting too excited, there seems to be a championship pedigree on the roster, exemplified by point guard Chris Paul.

"Some people may be impressed by the record, but we can't be," Paul said. "We're not measured by our regular-season wins."

The Clippers' depth has been especially impressive. Last night, their bench scored 53 points after scoring 64 in their previous game against Denver. In fact, if you put Eric Bledsoe, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf on the court at tipoff, that would be a competitive starting five.

Lakers fans did not get their wish to have Phil Jackson return as coach. AP

3. Good Phil hunting: I supposed it might be fitting if P.J. Carlesimo does such a great job as the Nets' interim coach that he holds onto the job all season, leads them to the NBA Finals, where they beat the Thunder.

Carlesimo, you might recall, was fired as Thunder coach, paving the way for his assistant, Scott Brooks, to take over.

It should be noted that Jackson's agent told TNT's David Aldridge that Jackson is not interested in the Nets job at this time, but ESPN said the flirtation with the Lakers after Mike Brown's firing has whetted the Zen Master's appetite to coach again.

Dunleavy, on the other hand, sounds very interested. NetsDaily.com, in fact, says the former Blazers coach is practically campaigning for the job, saying in a radio interview, "I'm from Brooklyn. Coaching there would be a dream come true."

4. Kicking it: Miami's Dwyane Wade was suspended for one game by the NBA yesterday for a kicking move that caught Charlotte's Ramon Sessions just a bit low.

5. Point being made: At the same time Blazers rookie sensation Damian Lillard battles the Lakers' Steve Nash in Los Angeles tonight, another good point guard matchup will be happening elsewhere in California.

Holiday is averaging 18.1 points and 8.8 assists, and Curry is at 20.3 points and 6.4 assists. I would guess both will get consideration for the All-Star Game when coaches vote for the reserves.

One thing that really stands out when you see their progress -- both players are in their fourth NBA seasons -- is just how advanced Lillard is as a rookie. Lillard is averaging 18.6 points and 6.7 assists. It's true that he and Holiday are the same age (22), with Curry two years older.

Still, when Holiday comes to the Rose Garden on Saturday, it should serve as a good reminder just how unusual Lillard's season really is.